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Mike Jewell of Scottsburg, IN closed out the 2003 STARS Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series season and the 50th racing season for the Florence (KY) Speedway on Saturday Night by winning the First Annual "Fall 50". The win for the 45 year old racer was his third this year on the series tour and he earned $5000 for the victory. Jewell drove to victory lane the Southern Indiana Rock Drilling, Morgan Foods, MPC Motorsports, Hoosier Tires, LaFountain's Auto Body, Jewell TV Service, KP Radio, Shelton Angus Farms, Scott County Tire, GKN Sinter Metals, Pruett's Auto Repair, Cornett Thunder Race Engines; MasterSbilt Grand Prix sponsored #9. Jewell took the lead on the 31st lap from Timmy Yeager of Harrodsburg, KY who finished second in the Stephen Estes/Estes Automotive and Machine Shop/C.J. Rayburn Monte Carlo. Third place went to Jerry Rice of Verona, KY in the Brooks Racing/Brooks Electric/Rocket Monte Carlo with fourth place going to Darrell Lanigan of Union, KY in the Lanigan Autosports/Gotta Race Wear/Rocket Ford Taurus. Rounding out the top five was Jesse James Lay of Walton, KY in the Outlaw Racing/Cox Outdoor Advertising/Rocket Monte Carlo. A total of 56 cars were on hand for the event which put the curtain down on the 2003 racing season for Kentucky's Premier Dirt Late Model Sanctioning Body. Mike Marlar is the 2003 series champion and the R&P Industrial Chimney Rookie of the year for the Lexington, KY based series.
Timmy Yeager would be the man to beat early in the race as he would grab the point right from the drop of the green flag to start the 50 lap main event. Jewell would be running in second with Victor Lee in third followed by Hall of Famer, Jim Curry. The race was going along smoothly until a red flag on lap six for a flip by Stanley Haddix stopped the action. Haddix emerged from his car unscathed but he was done for the night. The race went green for three more circuits when Jerry Bowersock the 2003 Johnny Appleseed race winner at Eldora Speedway would come to a halt on the front straightaway necessitating a caution flag. Another caution for Aaron Hatton on the backstretch a lap scored later would see him go out of the race as well. With ten laps scored in the event Yeager was still in front with Jewell now pressuring him for the point. Jewell had actually passed Yeager coming off of turn number two but the caution for Hatton wiped that lead exchange out. At this point a car headed to the front was Jesse James Lay, who had started sixth and worked his way past three cars and was now running in third behind Yeager and Jewell. Another yellow on the 15th lap for Series Points Champion Mike Marlar, would see his night end on the hook after an incident in turn four. This would be the first time Marlar failed to finish in the top four positions of a series event in the last eight tries. Marlar had already secured the series championship before the race began. With 15 laps in the books and 25 remaining it was still Yeager on the point looking for his first ever win at Florence. Yeager, Jewell and Lay would distance themselves from the rest of the racers when the race reached the midway point as the crossed flags were indicated from starter, Noel Hargis.
With the top three firmly in control of the race, the race for fourth was getting going between first time BoB participant, Greg Lucas and veteran, Jerry Rice. Those two would go door to door for several laps as they now started to close down on the top three. On the 31st lap Jewell had caught back up to Yeager and made the pass on Yeager for the lead. Just as Jewell grabbed the lead lapped traffic in front of Jewell, Yeager and Lay would make it very interesting now as the winner of the race would still be in doubt. A break for Jewell came on the 39th lap when Michael Bradley stopped in turn two to bring out the final caution of the race. That cleared Jewell's path in front of him. On the final double file restart of the race Jewell would maintain his lead over Yeager with Rice on the move finally passing Lucas for fourth and then on lap 41 he took Lay's position in third. Rice looked like the car that may just have something for Jewell and Yeager in the final laps. Another car making his way into the top five was Darrell Lanigan, as the 2003 Dream $100,000 winner and Lay would go at it for fourth in the last few laps of the race. Lanigan would clear Lay for fourth on the 47th circuit. Up front Jewell would build his lead up enough that Yeager would not be able to mount a last lap effort to get him as Jewell would cross the line in first for his fourth career STARS Battle of the Bluegrass event win. Yeager would take second with Rice finishing in third followed by Lanigan and Lay.
Afterwards Jewell commented that it was a phone call from car builder, Keith Masters which helped him win the race. "Keith said let's try this set up and see what works and it sure did," said the excited winner afterwards. "This is the first win with this car this year and I want to thank God, my crew, sponsors and my family and all the great race fans out there for their support." Jewell had been choosing between two MasterSbilt cars this year and had other wins in his other car before this one broke through on Saturday night in style. "I have raced with Timmy (Yeager) alot this year and he always races me clean and he did tonight and I'd say we put on a real good show for the fans."
Scott James would start the rest of the top ten after having to take a provisional starting spot to make the race he came from the 23rd starting position on the grid and finished in sixth earning the Hard Charger of the race. Completing the top ten were Greg Lucas, Steve Casebolt Jr., Joey Kramer and Johnny Wheeler.
In preliminary events John Gill was the Racing Optics/Bullzilla Graphics Fast Time for the 56 cars on hand with a lap of 15.888 seconds. Heat race winners were Timmy Yeager, Victor Lee, Jerry Rice, Mike Jewell, Jesse James Lay and Jim Curry. Brian Ruhlman and Michael Wooldridge won the AFCO Racing Products B-Mains.
Race Summary
Event #25
STARS Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series
Florence Speedway-Union, KY
Saturday Night, October 4, 2003
Racing Optics/Bullzilla Graphics Fast Time: John Gill 15.888
First Heat: Timmy Yeager, Greg Lucas, Steve Landrum, Brian Ruhlman
Second Heat: Victor Lee, Michael Chilton, Stanley Haddix, Bill Blair Jr
Third heat: Jerry Rice, Mike Marlar, Darrell Lanigan, Steve Casebolt Jr
Fourth Heat: Mike Jewell, Michael Bradley, Joey Kramer, Michael Wooldridge
Fifth Heat: Jesse James Lay, Johnny Wheeler, Aaron Hatton, Dick Phillips
Sixth Heat: Jim Curry, Jerry Bowersock, Josh Williams, David Powers
AFCO 1st B-Main: Brian Ruhlman, Steve Casebolt Jr., Rick Corbin, Tony Traficant
AFCO 2nd B-Main: Michael Wooldridge, Dick Phillips, David Powers, John Holt
PBM Performance Products "Fall 50" Main Event: Mike Jewell, Timmy Yeager, Jerry Rice, Darrell Lanigan, Jesse James Lay, Scott James, Greg Lucas, Steve Casebolt Jr., Joey Kramer, Johnny Wheeler, Jim Curry, Steve Landrum, Brad Neat, Victor Lee, Josh Williams, Brian Ruhlman, Roger Williams, Dick Phillips, Michael Chilton, Michael Bradley, Michael Wooldridge, Mike Marlar, Aaron Hatton, Jerry Bowersock, Stanley Haddix
Race Statistics
Entries: 56
STARS Battle of the Bluegrass Provisionals: Scott James and Brad Neat
Track Provisional: Roger Williams
R&P Industrial Chimney Rookie of the Race: Joey Kramer
PPM Racing Products/Outlaw Race Cars Hard Charger: Scott James
Race Leaders: Timmy Yeager 1-30 Mike Jewell 31-50
Mike Jewell of Scottsburg, IN closed out the 2003 STARS Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series season and the 50th racing season for the Florence (KY) Speedway on Saturday Night by winning the First Annual "Fall 50". The win for the 45 year old racer was his third this year on the series tour and he earned $5000 for the victory. Jewell drove to victory lane the Southern Indiana Rock Drilling, Morgan Foods, MPC Motorsports, Hoosier Tires, LaFountain's Auto Body, Jewell TV Service, KP Radio, Shelton Angus Farms, Scott County Tire, GKN Sinter Metals, Pruett's Auto Repair, Cornett Thunder Race Engines; MasterSbilt Grand Prix sponsored #9. Jewell took the lead on the 31st lap from Timmy Yeager of Harrodsburg, KY who finished second in the Stephen Estes/Estes Automotive and Machine Shop/C.J. Rayburn Monte Carlo. Third place went to Jerry Rice of Verona, KY in the Brooks Racing/Brooks Electric/Rocket Monte Carlo with fourth place going to Darrell Lanigan of Union, KY in the Lanigan Autosports/Gotta Race Wear/Rocket Ford Taurus. Rounding out the top five was Jesse James Lay of Walton, KY in the Outlaw Racing/Cox Outdoor Advertising/Rocket Monte Carlo. A total of 56 cars were on hand for the event which put the curtain down on the 2003 racing season for Kentucky's Premier Dirt Late Model Sanctioning Body. Mike Marlar is the 2003 series champion and the R&P Industrial Chimney Rookie of the year for the Lexington, KY based series.
Timmy Yeager would be the man to beat early in the race as he would grab the point right from the drop of the green flag to start the 50 lap main event. Jewell would be running in second with Victor Lee in third followed by Hall of Famer, Jim Curry. The race was going along smoothly until a red flag on lap six for a flip by Stanley Haddix stopped the action. Haddix emerged from his car unscathed but he was done for the night. The race went green for three more circuits when Jerry Bowersock the 2003 Johnny Appleseed race winner at Eldora Speedway would come to a halt on the front straightaway necessitating a caution flag. Another caution for Aaron Hatton on the backstretch a lap scored later would see him go out of the race as well. With ten laps scored in the event Yeager was still in front with Jewell now pressuring him for the point. Jewell had actually passed Yeager coming off of turn number two but the caution for Hatton wiped that lead exchange out. At this point a car headed to the front was Jesse James Lay, who had started sixth and worked his way past three cars and was now running in third behind Yeager and Jewell. Another yellow on the 15th lap for Series Points Champion Mike Marlar, would see his night end on the hook after an incident in turn four. This would be the first time Marlar failed to finish in the top four positions of a series event in the last eight tries. Marlar had already secured the series championship before the race began. With 15 laps in the books and 25 remaining it was still Yeager on the point looking for his first ever win at Florence. Yeager, Jewell and Lay would distance themselves from the rest of the racers when the race reached the midway point as the crossed flags were indicated from starter, Noel Hargis.
With the top three firmly in control of the race, the race for fourth was getting going between first time BoB participant, Greg Lucas and veteran, Jerry Rice. Those two would go door to door for several laps as they now started to close down on the top three. On the 31st lap Jewell had caught back up to Yeager and made the pass on Yeager for the lead. Just as Jewell grabbed the lead lapped traffic in front of Jewell, Yeager and Lay would make it very interesting now as the winner of the race would still be in doubt. A break for Jewell came on the 39th lap when Michael Bradley stopped in turn two to bring out the final caution of the race. That cleared Jewell's path in front of him. On the final double file restart of the race Jewell would maintain his lead over Yeager with Rice on the move finally passing Lucas for fourth and then on lap 41 he took Lay's position in third. Rice looked like the car that may just have something for Jewell and Yeager in the final laps. Another car making his way into the top five was Darrell Lanigan, as the 2003 Dream $100,000 winner and Lay would go at it for fourth in the last few laps of the race. Lanigan would clear Lay for fourth on the 47th circuit. Up front Jewell would build his lead up enough that Yeager would not be able to mount a last lap effort to get him as Jewell would cross the line in first for his fourth career STARS Battle of the Bluegrass event win. Yeager would take second with Rice finishing in third followed by Lanigan and Lay.
Afterwards Jewell commented that it was a phone call from car builder, Keith Masters which helped him win the race. "Keith said let's try this set up and see what works and it sure did," said the excited winner afterwards. "This is the first win with this car this year and I want to thank God, my crew, sponsors and my family and all the great race fans out there for their support." Jewell had been choosing between two MasterSbilt cars this year and had other wins in his other car before this one broke through on Saturday night in style. "I have raced with Timmy (Yeager) alot this year and he always races me clean and he did tonight and I'd say we put on a real good show for the fans."
Scott James would start the rest of the top ten after having to take a provisional starting spot to make the race he came from the 23rd starting position on the grid and finished in sixth earning the Hard Charger of the race. Completing the top ten were Greg Lucas, Steve Casebolt Jr., Joey Kramer and Johnny Wheeler.
In preliminary events John Gill was the Racing Optics/Bullzilla Graphics Fast Time for the 56 cars on hand with a lap of 15.888 seconds. Heat race winners were Timmy Yeager, Victor Lee, Jerry Rice, Mike Jewell, Jesse James Lay and Jim Curry. Brian Ruhlman and Michael Wooldridge won the AFCO Racing Products B-Mains.
Race Summary
Event #25
STARS Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series
Florence Speedway-Union, KY
Saturday Night, October 4, 2003
Racing Optics/Bullzilla Graphics Fast Time: John Gill 15.888
First Heat: Timmy Yeager, Greg Lucas, Steve Landrum, Brian Ruhlman
Second Heat: Victor Lee, Michael Chilton, Stanley Haddix, Bill Blair Jr
Third heat: Jerry Rice, Mike Marlar, Darrell Lanigan, Steve Casebolt Jr
Fourth Heat: Mike Jewell, Michael Bradley, Joey Kramer, Michael Wooldridge
Fifth Heat: Jesse James Lay, Johnny Wheeler, Aaron Hatton, Dick Phillips
Sixth Heat: Jim Curry, Jerry Bowersock, Josh Williams, David Powers
AFCO 1st B-Main: Brian Ruhlman, Steve Casebolt Jr., Rick Corbin, Tony Traficant
AFCO 2nd B-Main: Michael Wooldridge, Dick Phillips, David Powers, John Holt
PBM Performance Products "Fall 50" Main Event: Mike Jewell, Timmy Yeager, Jerry Rice, Darrell Lanigan, Jesse James Lay, Scott James, Greg Lucas, Steve Casebolt Jr., Joey Kramer, Johnny Wheeler, Jim Curry, Steve Landrum, Brad Neat, Victor Lee, Josh Williams, Brian Ruhlman, Roger Williams, Dick Phillips, Michael Chilton, Michael Bradley, Michael Wooldridge, Mike Marlar, Aaron Hatton, Jerry Bowersock, Stanley Haddix
Race Statistics
Entries: 56
STARS Battle of the Bluegrass Provisionals: Scott James and Brad Neat
Track Provisional: Roger Williams
R&P Industrial Chimney Rookie of the Race: Joey Kramer
PPM Racing Products/Outlaw Race Cars Hard Charger: Scott James
Race Leaders: Timmy Yeager 1-30 Mike Jewell 31-50
